Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDY 327 Energy management – staff awareness and motivation The Sears Group GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDY 327 ARCHIVED DOCUMENT ■ Phased energy and environment programme for staff in 2000 retail outlets ■ 7.2% reduction in energy consumption achieved in first year ■ Cost of awareness programme recovered within a few months ■ Impetus gained for other energy management initiatives BEST PRACTICE PROGRAMME ENERGY MANAGEMENT – STAFF AWARENESS AND MOTIVATION INTRODUCTION Working practices greatly influence the energy PLANNING efficiency of an organisation. A major, sustained In April 1994, Sears plc became a signatory to the improvement in energy efficiency can only be Department of the Environment’s (DOE’s) Making achieved if people are educated and motivated to a Corporate Commitment (MACC) campaign. In consider the energy implications of their day-to- July 1994 a group energy manager was appointed day activities. who created a full-time energy team comprising: ■ an energy secretary, responsible for the This presents a challenge for managers; few people give the need for energy efficiency in the workplace any serious thought, and those who do tend to view it as peripheral to their core responsibilities. processing of fuel and water data ■ an energy analyst, responsible for regular energy monitoring, the production of high consumption reports, and tariff analysis ■ an energy engineer, responsible for providing This Case Study explains how the Sears Group on-site technical support and assistance to addressed these issues by setting up an energy individual store managers. management team, and launching an energy campaign, which resulted in energy savings of up This team looked at the in-house energy needs of to 20% at some stores. the Group’s 2000 retail outlets, and marketed its services to each of the retail companies. BACKGROUND Each retail company within the Sears Group has full The team identified two main issues to address as responsibility for its own financial performance, and part of a phased energy management strategy: each store manager is responsible for day-to-day ■ standards must be specified and adopted to operation and profitability. ensure that all new and refurbished stores use the most energy efficient plant and services Historically some of the retail companies undertook ■ store managers needed training so that they energy management initiatives, but many of those could make best use of the controls and failed to achieve their full potential. For example, equipment provided. energy monitoring procedures alerted store managers to unexpected increases in energy consumption, but The group energy manager recognised, however, individual store managers lacked the technical that the impact of these two initiatives would be knowledge to investigate and rectify the problem. greatly enhanced if they were delivered as part of a Similarly, the retail companies were unable to provide broader energy and environmental campaign – the assistance and no follow-up action was taken. ‘Earth Wise’ programme. Sears therefore decided to establish a full-time The campaign began by increasing staff awareness Sears pledged to plant a tree for central energy team to provide an in-house service of energy and environmental issues, thus preparing every sensible suggestion to all of the Group’s retail companies. them for the more focused initiatives to follow. ARCHIVED DOCUMENT 2 ENERGY MANAGEMENT – STAFF AWARENESS AND MOTIVATION THE EARTH WISE PROGRAMME A checklist highlights Sears Group’s ten-point plan THE EARTH WISE PROGRAMME THE PLEDGE The Earth Wise programme stressed the link The staff suggestion scheme was reinforced between energy usage and environmental benefits by a pledge that Sears would plant a tree – viewed as a strong motivating factor, particularly for every sensible idea. This is achieved amongst younger employees. The link was by a donation to the Tree Council. It is reinforced by the logo chosen for the programme. intended that trees will be planted This maximised visual impact, even when subject throughout the United Kingdom, to monochrome copying. thereby reflecting Sears’ national presence. The pledge heightened Earth Wise was designed to be delivered in staff interest in the Earth Wise three phases: programme and provided Sears ■ advance ‘flyers’ to stimulate staff interest ■ an information pack to deliver the main with an ideal opportunity to messages of the programme publicise its environmental commitment to customers. ■ follow-up bulletins to provide feedback on the programme’s success stories and to maintain PARALLEL ACTIVITIES staff interest. To ensure that the awareness programme was not viewed in isolation, the central energy The programme was launched in management team ensured that parallel activities October 1994. A5 size flyers were were pursued rigorously throughout the early sent to all stores weekly during the phases of the Earth Wise programme. first month, each addressing a different environmental issue. Topics The team followed up poor performing stores included recycling, conservation of identified by its monitoring procedures, and resources and global warming. Each provided a swift response to enquiries from the leaflet concluded by asking: ‘What Earth Wise publicity. This activity encouraged staff can we, as employees of Sears plc, do and generated a range of success stories for to help the environment?’ publishing in the later phases of Earth Wise. Employees were also advised to ‘watch out for further announcements’. This message As part of the overall strategy, the group energy indicated that the programme was ongoing and not manager used the interest created by Earth Wise to just a single event. drive forward a ten point plan for the incorporation of energy efficient technologies into The leaflets were followed by an information new and refurbished store design. These had to be pack containing: agreed with all the retail companies in the Group ■ ■ ■ ■ a covering letter from the energy team and their commitment obtained to adopt them as promotional posters part of their design and refurbishment policies. ‘switch off’ and other stickers a staff suggestion pad. The Earth Wise logo featured prominently on all material. ARCHIVED DOCUMENT 3 ENERGY MANAGEMENT – STAFF AWARENESS AND MOTIVATION THE EARTH WISE PROGRAMME EARTH WISE UPDATE A few months after the launch of the programme, a large colour poster was sent to each store accompanied by a letter of endorsement from the managing director of the retail company concerned. The centre section of the poster included photographs of the energy team with their functions and telephone numbers. This reinforced the personal links between the team and individual store staff. Other sections of ENERGY MANAGEMENT MATRIX Energy policy The energy management matrix is a simple diagnostic tool which is Organising Motivation Information Systems Marketing Investment 4 central to the DOE’s Energy Efficiency Best Practice publications 3 on the organisational aspects of energy management. DOE General 2 Information Reports 12 and 13 (‘Aspects of energy management’ and 1 ‘Reviewing energy management’) describe in detail how the matrix 0 should be used. the poster reported on progress to date. Example of a balanced matrix The matrix provides a quick, Sears believes that feedback of this nature is vital to maintain staff interest and create a strong sense of ownership, particularly at those stores featured in the poster as success stories. easy-to-use but effective method for organisations to identify and describe the current priority they Energy policy attach to different aspects of energy management. 4 Since the Earth Wise campaign was started in 1994, Each vertical column of the matrix 3 Sears Group’s annual energy usage has been deals with one of six key issues, reduced by around 7% with savings at some stores namely energy policy; organising; being as high as 20%. The resulting financial motivation; information systems; savings equate to around £600 000. marketing; and investment. 1 The annual cost of operating the energy management The ascending rows, from 0 to 4, 0 team is £120 000, a cost that has already been represent increasingly sophisticated recovered five times over. The energy cost savings handling of these issues. The objective resulting from the programme are already equivalent is to achieve a balanced improvement to a £6.8 million increase in group sales. across the columns, and to reach as Organising Motivation Information Systems Marketing Investment ACHIEVEMENTS 2 Example of an unbalanced matrix close to the top as possible. These savings have been achieved by simple good housekeeping measures that have required little or Examples of a balanced and an no investment other that than staff training and unbalanced matrix are shown above awareness. Typical is the Adams store in Walsall, right. Also shown, right, is an average where an electric door heater was left on profile, calculated from the profiles continuously. Staff training in the operation of the drawn by over 1500 energy managers heater resulted in a 24% reduction in electrical in a wide variety of public and private energy. Similarly, at Miss Selfridge in Meadowhall, organisations throughout the UK. an 8% reduction was achieved by training staff to Energy policy Organising Motivation Information Systems Marketing Investment 4 3 2 1 reset timeswitches to prevent display lights Comparing this with the matrix on operating all night. page 6 clearly shows that Sears has 0 achieved a high standard in its The next phase of the programme continues this energy management activities. Average profile process by providing focused training to all levels of management. ARCHIVED DOCUMENT 4 HOST ORGANISATION ‘Earth Wise promotes energy conservation as the answer to environmental issues. Its initial success has been outstanding, with a 7.2% reduction in like-for-like energy consumption and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of over 15 000 tonnes per annum. The success of the campaign has justified its implementation, continuation and expansion, with further environmental and energy conservation initiatives being used to drive the campaign forward.’ Kevin Thompson, Sears Group Energy Manager SEARS GROUP PLC The Sears Group includes Adams, Dolcis, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Richards, Warehouse, Shoe City, Shoe Express, Selfridge’s and Freemans. In 1994/95 the Group spent approximately £15 million on energy, occupied over 2000 premises, and employed over 40 000 staff. This Case Study describes how the Sears Group implemented a programme to increase staff awareness of energy and environmental issues. The programme not only resulted in environmental benefits but also brought about a culture change within the organisation, and contributed to the Group’s bottom line. ARCHIVED DOCUMENT 5 ENERGY MANAGEMENT – STAFF AWARENESS AND MOTIVATION ENERGY MANAGEMENT MATRIX 1995 Organising Motivation Information systems Marketing Investment 4 Energy policy, action plan and regular review have commitment of top management as part of an environmental strategy Energy management fully integrated into management structure. Clear delegation of responsibility for energy consumption Formal and informal channels of communication regularly exploited by energy manager and energy staff at all levels Comprehensive system sets targets, monitors consumption, identifies faults, quantifies savings and provides budget tracking Marketing the value of energy efficiency and the performance of energy management both within the organisation and outside it Positive discrimination in favour of 'green' schemes with detailed investment appraisal of all new-build and refurbishment opportunities 3 Formal energy policy, but no active commitment from top management Energy manager accountable to energy committee representing all users, chaired by a member of the managing board Energy committee used as main channel together with direct contact with major users M&T reports for individual premises based on sub-metering, but savings not reported effectively to users Programme of staff awareness and regular publicity campaigns Same payback criteria employed as for all other investment 2 Unadopted energy policy set by energy manager or senior departmental manager Energy manager in post, reporting to ad-hoc committee, but line management and authority are unclear Contact with major users through ad-hoc committee chaired by senior departmental manager Monitoring and targeting reports based on supply meter data. Energy unit has ad-hoc involvement in budget setting Some ad-hoc staff awareness training Investment using short term payback criteria only 1 An unwritten set of guidelines Energy management the part-time responsibility of someone with only limited authority or influence Informal contacts between engineer and a few users Cost reporting based on invoice data. Engineer compiles reports for internal use within technical department Informal contacts used to promote energy efficiency Only low cost measures taken 0 No explicit policy No energy management or any formal delegation of responsibility for energy consumption No contact with users No information system. No accounting for energy consumption No promotion of energy efficiency No investment in increasing energy efficiency in premises Level Energy Policy 1994 Energy management matrix, showing improvement in Sears Group energy management capability between 1994 and 1995 The Government’s Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme provides impartial, authoritative information on energy efficiency techniques and technologies in industry and buildings. This information is disseminated through publications, videos and software, together with seminars, workshops and other events. Publications within the Best Practice programme are shown opposite. Visit the website at www.energy-efficiency.gov.uk Call the Environment and Energy Helpline on 0800 585794 For further specific information on: Buildings-related projects contact: Enquiries Bureau Industrial projects contact: Energy Efficiency Enquiries Bureau BRECSU ETSU BRE Garston, Watford WD25 9XX Tel 01923 664258 Fax 01923 664787 E-mail [email protected] Harwell, Oxfordshire OX11 0RA Tel 01235 436747 Fax 01235 433066 E-mail [email protected] ARCHIVED DOCUMENT Energy Consumption Guides: compare energy use in specific processes, operations, plant and building types. Good Practice: promotes proven energy-efficient techniques through Guides and Case Studies. New Practice: monitors first commercial applications of new energy efficiency measures. Future Practice: reports on joint R&D ventures into new energy efficiency measures. General Information: describes concepts and approaches yet to be fully established as good practice. Fuel Efficiency Booklets: give detailed information on specific technologies and techniques. Introduction to Energy Efficiency: helps new energy managers understand the use and costs of heating, lighting, etc. © CROWN COPYRIGHT FIRST PRINTED JULY 1996